College Football Rankings Week 2: Which SEC Team Will Climb the Most?

The SEC is the best and most competitive conference in college football and has several BCS championship contenders.

LSU, Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Florida are all ranked in the Top 20 in the polls, with LSU and Alabama in the Top 5 at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

With so many quality teams, which one can we expect to see climb up the polls and power rankings the most? South Carolina has the best chance to do that and a win Saturday against Georgia in both team's SEC opener would be a great way to start.

The Gamecocks are led by Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Lattimore, who rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-37 win last week against East Carolina.

Lattimore rushed for 182 yards last year against Georgia and he could be in for another big game against the Bulldogs Saturday.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt knows Lattimore poses a real test for his defense. Richt recently said this on CBS Sports:

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"You can tackle a guy, but he'll get a couple of yards after contact. Or you can tackle a guy and stop him in his tracks," Richt said. "We've got to get our guys making tackles so they don't get yards after contact. But there's probably not a better back in the nation than Lattimore at doing that. It's a tremendous challenge for us."

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Richt's team struggled last week against No. 4 Boise State, but his Bulldogs weren't the only SEC team that didn't start smoothly on opening weekend.

East Carolina put a scare into South Carolina last week, keeping up with the Gamecocks and leading for a while as well, but when head coach Steve Spurrier put quarterback Stephen Garcia into the game for Connor Shaw, the Gamecocks offense began to get rolling.

With Garcia at the helm, South Carolina erased a 24-14 halftime deficit and outscored East Carolina 42-13 in the final 30 minutes.

Garcia will be key to the Gamecocks chances against Georgia and must play mistake-free football against a Bulldogs defense looking to redeem themselves after last week.

After Saturday's matchup with Georgia, South Carolina doesn't have to play a currently ranked team until October 15 when they travel to Mississippi State.

In fact, the Gamecocks only play two more currently ranked teams after Mississippi State, with a road game at Arkansas and a home match against Florida during the first two weeks of November.

South Carolina does not have to play LSU or Alabama, which gives them a soft schedule for SEC standards.

The Gamecocks are a talented team who do not have the normal week-to-week tests that SEC teams typically face, which will help them climb up the rankings and be a contender for the BCS title game.

Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for the latest sports news: Follow @NicholasGoss35